Razia Sultan

About the film

Razia Sultan is a 1983 Indian period biographical film, written and directed by Kamal Amrohi, and starring Hema Malini, Parveen Babi and Dharmendra in lead roles. Upon release, it was a box office disaster, mainly due to its high production value. It was the most expensive Indian film made until then.

N.B. Kulkarni won the Filmfare Award for Best Art Direction, the only win for the film. Khayyam received a Filmfare nomination for Best Music Director. Lyrics were by Jan Nisar Akhtar and two songs picturized on Dharmendra as Yakut Jamaluddin, Abyssinian slave by Nida Fazli; one song by Kaifi Azmi; both walked into the project when Akhtar died. Some songs were sung by Lata Mangeshkar, including "Aye Dil-e Nadaan". Kamal Amrohi shot some scenes of Razia Sultan in Tonk between 1981-82.

Plot

The film is based on the life of Razia Sultan (1205–1240), the only female Sultan of Delhi (1236–1240) and her speculated love affair with the Abyssinian slave, Jamal-ud-Din Yakut.

Soundtrack

It was the second time that Khayyam worked for a Kamal Amrohi's film. Earlier he had given music for Shankar Hussain, a movie produced by Amrohi. There is a story as to how Kamal got liking for Khayyam's music. Once Kamal Amrohi and his wife Meena Kumari liked a song that they had listened to on the radio. The song was "Parbaton Ke Pedon Par" and was sung by Mohammed Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur. Later on, they learned that this song was composed by Khayyam for a movie called Shagoon (1964). However, by the time Razia Sultan went on the shooting floors, Laxmikant–Pyarelal became the most-sought-after music director duo. So, Kamal Amrohi signed them. But, he did not like one fast-paced tune composed by the duo for the film and told them to compose a new tune instead. When Kamal went to the duo's place to listen to their new tune, he was asked to wait as the music directors were in a meeting. Feeling insulted that he was asked to wait by someone so junior to him, Kamal Amrohi replaced them with Khayyam.

Box office

Being director Kamal Amrohi's dream project, it was made in a very grand way. The film had an estimated budget of ₹7–10 crore in 1983, with production spanning over 7 years. When released, the film made barely ₹2 crore, becoming a box office disaster.

Key details